January 15th o 2012, my wife was due for a new cell phone. Instead of going through our normal Verizon dealer she noticed a sale on a the HTC Thunderbolt at H.H. Gregg. The bubbly sales person there talked my wife into getting their extended service plan. The plan touted as being easier and more encompassing than the Verizon plan. The plan was over 200$. We assumed (unfortunately) this was an all encompassing service plan.

Approximately 1 year later to my wife's dismay, the phone died. Oh well at least we have this swell warranty. Oh guess again. So with, kids in tow, we went to H.H. Gregg to get our refund. We went back to the same store from which we purchased the phone thought we would need to spend a few minutes to get a replacement phone. Instead, my wife was greeted by some drooling troglodyte telling her she would need to call a third party insurance company to get a replacement phone. When my wife asked how long will it take to get a replacement, the counter troll responded "idunno". Now my wife has become extremely frustrated, and rightfully so.

This is where I step in and ask to speak to the store manager. 20 minutes later after watching the zombified sales people meander around the store a well dressed gentleman approaches me. Finally I will be able to speak to someone with a clue, or so I though. So apparently you can polish a turd, because the store manager was just as useless as the rest of the denizens of the store. He fumbled around the computer for about 10 minutes just to tell me I never bought the HTC Thunderbolt, THAT I WAS HOLDING IN MY HAND. 5 more minutes typing on the keyboard "oh, you did purchase the thunderbolt," (thanks for the update Colombo.) However, I was told I didn't purchase a warranty. 5 more minutes after I pointed to the screen and said "umm, isn't that the warranty?" I was told "oh yes you did purchase the warranty, but there isn't really anything I can do for you, you will need to call the insurance company.

At this point I am livid, I look into the dull void of his souless eyes and say, "If I walk out that door with out a phone in my hand, I will make it my part time job to make sure no one shops at this store again." So instead of sucking it up and returning the phone he decided it would be a better idea to let me walkout the door. Well I don't make empty threats, hence the existence of this web site. However, I still need to get a replacement phone for my wife so I call the Insurance company, Warrantech.

Now the real fun begins. The condescending customer service agent on the phone tells me, "you will need to mail the phone back to us so we can determine what is wrong with it then we will send you a replacement." WHAT, WHY WOULD I PAY 200 DOLLARS FOR AN EXTENDED SERVICE PLAN THAT IS WORSE THEN THE STANDARD PLAN. Right now we are waiting to hear back from the management of "Warrantech".